Toyota, despite recalls, is a "premium" used label, as is Honda, and increasingly, Hyundai. Dealers sometimes "certify" used cars offering warranties and jacking up the price. TMV sometimes does not "jive" on these vehicles, your call as to what the warranty is worth. If you're willing to risk no warranty on something used try private sale via craigslist or other local source. With that said I have a 2000 Sienna, runs great (bought it from private party $1000 under TMV!). I want to get something newer but haven't found it yet. Keep looking!

I agree, there is a distinct premium for Toyota and Honda (overall, but especially for minivans!) BUT if I understand the concept behind TMV correctly, it is based on actual sales receipts and tax receipts, and NOT on some kind of "formula" -- such as if a car cost "X" new, it depreciates exactly "X" amount in four years, etc.

If this is so, then TMV should adjust easily for brands like Toyota and Honda. I believe there is also an adjustment in the charts for a "certified" car, of anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand dollars or more; this is a benefit only the individual buyer can access for himself.

My experience is that warranties like that usually come with so many "conditions" and copays, that they end up not being worth what you think at the time of purchase. And they don't apply to cars over a certain number of years (usually 5) and miles.

I'm glad you were fortunate enough to buy a Toyota Sienna for UNDER TMV value, but at this time in my market (NE Ohio), not only won't people do that, they are asking as much as 30% OVER TMV, and sticking to it, and actually angry and insulted if you even present TMV as a negotiating tool. One factor might be the age of your van -- after 11 years, any car (short of a luxury label) is getting up there. Or maybe it had rust or another cosmetic issue.

I have not noticed that Hyundai VANS sell for over the price of a similar "twin" Kia Sedona van -- I've seen both in my travels, and occasionally even seen a well-equipped Entourage asking slightly less than a similarly equipped Kia. (When new, the Entourage was priced about 5% more than the Kia for essentially the same vehicle.) Maybe this is true for some Hyundai models; the Entourage wasn't a good seller for them, and they only made it for 2 seasons, 2007 and 2008.

@wwq1 I bought a 2001 last year for 6K from a dealer and got a 100K mile warranty. The van had 61K miles and was a loaded XLE model. I would shop around more.. Also, i would suggest that if you are going to go through a dealer, you make sure you buy from a Toyota dealership and not from another manufacturer... Typically, people happy with Toyota's will buy another Toyota, ones who have had bad luck will trade there Toyota in at another dealership.

But honestly, this is my third Toyota, i have never needed a warranty. My 85 Camry i sold at 330K miles, just out of boredom, but it still ran new. Then my 99 Corolla LE died at 260K miles, but they were some brutal 260K miles, and i say died, the clutch went at 260K miles and i couldn't justify fixing it. But then i never let a dealer fix any of my cars, if they break i do it myself. I honestly don't trust any of them anyway... But if i sell the van the warranty is transferable, which is the only plus.

If the road is gravel, I would be concerned with the ground clearance. Although the Sienna under consideration has AWD, it may have insufficient ground clearance for your needs. The underbody of the Sienna likely does not have skid plates to protect vital components underneath the vehcile. You probably should consider an SUV. Good luck.

In our case we were moving out of a 2002 Honda Odyssey EX with nearly 140k miles, and we got paid $5,600 for it. So net for us was the opportunity to step up to a 'like new' van with a comprehensive warranty for under $13.5k. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

It really depends... The departure and takeoff angles are not great, and on a weekly off-road adventure to a friends house we regularly scrape the front air dam and our rear hitch. The hitch I understand given that even the Curt unit which tuck up fairly well still lowers the already low rear bumper by another few inches.

I've not driven a Sienna AWD in snow, but given that it has an open center differential, I wouldn't expect 'Subaru-like' grip. Once a single wheel spins, too much of the torque is going to end up sucked away. Hopefully the disk brake traction control system will compensate and save the day.

OK, starting to sense something strange here. First it had a 100k warranty, then in the next post it was a 125k/8yr warranty on a 2001 bought last year? Now as Toyota platinum is from in service date, my math say it expire when??? Think I smell something fishy....

The last car we bought was in 1999. A 1998 Toyota Corolla LE. It has 136,000 miles on it now (and a cassette tape player)! We purchased this car before kids.

We've grown out of it since we started camping last year and want to buy a minivan.

I applied for a car loan on Wednesday and it was denied. Now what?

We are now considering buying a 2001ish Sienna for cold hard cash. We have about $5000.

What do I need to know about buying a 2000, 2001 or 2002 Sienna? We don't care about options, just need a ride. We are planning on looking on auto trader and craigslist. We are NOT car buying (nor car fixing) people. We're looking for something reliable to drive for 3 years while we pay ourselves a car payment and get farther away from the bankruptcy(2007) when we could buy something newer with lower miles.

Is TMV realistic when buying a vehicle like this? Should we buy from a dealer over private? How do you make the deal with cash...a cashier's check? money order? What should we look out for with regards to these years?

You would pay with a cashier's check from a bank or with a money order. You should also take the car to a mechanic and have them check it out for $50 - $100 or so to be sure it is OK.

You can also call your local police and (at least where I live) they will immediately dispatch a policeman to do a VIN check on the car to make sure that it is not stolen.

You can order a carfax if you want. I have looked extensively on Craigslist. Beware of the scams offering too-good-to-be-true deals where they say they are in the military and they will ship it to you from out of state and they ask you to pay via EBay. Ebay does not have any service where you could send them the money and EBay would hold onto it until after you get the vehicle. This is a major, major, major scam. I have seen 3 different listings like this.

Personally, I would go to my bank with the buyer and have them witness me getting the cashier's check so that they know it is not counterfiet.

Also, beware that 2/3 or so of the listings on Craigslist are from dealers...many of they make the listing as individuals, but they turn out to be small used car dealers. I would steer clear of them. Cut out the dealer's profit and split that between the buyer and the seller.

I recently (2010) bought a used 2001 Toyota Sienna, there are some issues with this van to worry about before purchasing. While they are great vans, if they are taken care of.. they are a nightmare if they have been neglected. First thing to keep in mind, this vehicle at this point is 11 years old.. they will need some kind of work.. whether it be basic maintenance or some other repair work done. Secondly, there are a few Toyota Service Bulletins on this van. the first is; There was a "hidden" recall for engine sludging.. this is typically fixed at this point, if there was an issue, you would need to rebuild the engine. This was corrected in the 2004 model year with the 3.3ltr replacement engine. Second was an issue with the ECM causing the engine to knock heavily causing issues with bent valves, or knocking motor sounds, it can be "hidden" with a thick oil. Keep this in mind prior to buying one.. Actual recalls are also something to keep in mind.. 1. there are about 600 of them that were affected with sub-frame separation that will cause vibrations, or at worst the front with clunk heavily.. this is fixed for free from toyota.. 2. There was a recall on 60K of them for rot on the spare tire cable that can cause the spare tire to fall off the van.. This was fixed on mine.. But, again, if the van was neglected.. then who knows.. i purchased my van at 70K miles, i now have 105K miles on mine.. In that time i have replaced.. 4 tires, Brakes, ball joints, tie rod ends, suspension bushings, ECM (mine was effected 500.00 part at salvage yard) Transmission fluid flush, Coolant flush, and dropped the Oil pan to clean out sludging issues.. have since run Full synthetic oil and now my van runs like a champ) I paid 4K for my van and so far have put in roughly 2k dollars in parts, which i have done 100% myself.. i would think it would be triple that if i had a mechanic or dealer do it. While i love and i do LOVE my van.. if i didnt have a mechanical background i would have bought a 2004 or newer.. where the worst are the issues are power doors breaking.. Best of luck.. hope this helps..

In addition to the issues mentioned there is another major one:For 2000-2002 model , IIRC, sienna had a TSB for replacement of ECM for 8years (expired already) which may result in ECM failure and/or exhaust system catalytic converter failure. ( I had 2001 sienna which I disposed off in March, I had to change both the O2 sensors twice and again the error was coming for O2 sensor failure or Catalytic converter failure think of $$$$ expense in repair).But if the seller has got the ECM replaced under this TSB then you will be safe. So ask the owner about it.

We're considering getting a 2008 Sienna LE w/ 52.300 miles. 8 seater, power everything, with a transferable powertrain warranty until 2014. Is $15,950 a good price?

Also, we currently own a 2005 LE w/ 107,000 miles. The van is fine, of course it has some issues since it's already 7 years old. Nothing major, some problems w/ the slidings doors (right one is hard to open, left one sometimes doesn't close well) , the battery is dying, there are lots of scratches on the paint. Would you keep it or upgrade to the newer one?

I've always stayed away from new model years, for example, the 2011 Toyota Sienna. My dad always said the engineers, line assembly need to work out the qwirks, etc. Less problems down the road.

So I'm in the market, getting ready to buy a used Sienna. There is a glut of 2011s and a few 2012s that match my needs. I actually have to drive out of state to see the four or five vehicles that meet all my requirements for a 2012.

So would you buy the new model year of the Sienna (2011) or would you hold out for a 2012, 2013?